Serial killer Ivan Milat has been sacked as one of The Bug's regular
columnists.
His first column, in the last issue of The Bug, was on knots.
The Bug's editor in chief, Christopher Gordon-Brown, said: "I am deeply
disappointed that Mr Milat had apparently misused the opportunity this paper
had provided for him.
"Considering recent events surrounding Mr Milat, the offer of a regular
column would have been an ideal opportunity to redeem himself in the eyes
of the Australian public.
"He has let me down personally and he has let our readers down."
Master Gordon-Brown said he was dismayed when first told that large sections
of Milat's $750 an issue column were taken verbatim from a 1930s Queensland
text on restraining horses for veterinary examination.
In his Bug column, Milat wrote: "When working alone in the open, a
medium sized backpacker can be restrained easily by using a clove-hitch
around the neck, running the rope along side the flank and forming a double
loop tie-off under the left foot. The backpacker can then be easily brought
to ground for subsequent sadistic rituals by pulling on the rope at a 45
degree angle."
Shortly after that article was published, a veterinary surgeon from Roma
who asked not to be named faxed the Bug office with the following extract
from Fowler's Guide to Horse Surgery in Paddock Conditions, first published
in the Queensland Stock and Agriculture Journal in June, 1936: "When
working alone in the open, a medium sized mare can be restrained easily
by using a clove-hitch around the neck, running the rope along side the
flank and forming a double loop tie-off under the left fetlock. The mare
can then be easily brought to ground for subsequent surgery by pulling on
the rope at a 45 degree angle."
An investigation found other large tracts of text common to both articles.
Master Gordon-Brown said he found it hard to believe that Mr Milat would
resort to plagiarising another person's published work when he clearly had
expertise in the field himself.
"It's dishonest, but worse than that, it's lazy."
When first challenged on the article, Mr Milat through his solicitors said
Fowler's Guide to Horse Surgery in Paddock Conditions was a popular book
in the NSW prison library.
Mr Milat had considered it reasonable to use sections of the book because
it was clearly in the prison domain.
Mr Gordon-Brown said he decided to sack Milat after the serial killer changed
his story and declared he had in fact been Fowler in an earlier life.
The decision to axe the column would not affect Milat's other contributions
to The Bug, including his popular regular feature, Going Off-Road in Australia's
Wonderfully Diverse Forests.
Starting next week, Milat's Knots column will be replaced by TravelTalk
with former Senate Deputy President, Independent Queensland Senator Mal
Colston.